On the one day I spent wandering around Phnom Penh I spent some time at
Wat Ounalom, the Buddhist monastery which is the center of the faith in Cambodia. Talk about a
peaceful location! It was hard to believe I had walked
through the monastery grounds a couple of times and not seen the grandeur of the holy buildings: several layers, bright paint, interesting designs I don't know the story behind. I went up and down into several of the temples, but my most memorable occurrence of the day was when I wandered around the back to a
cemetery (? memorial shrines? I think Buddhists cremate) where an old man was sitting outside another small wat and invited me
in. Okay, why not? I don't have any real plans for the day. It was all I could do to not laugh when I realized the
Buddha had a fluorescent spinner halo behind its head that lit up. I was really glad I hadn't when the old man then went into a process of blessing me (? I think; I didn't really have a clue what was going on). He lit an incense stick, waved it over me then handed it to me to bring to my forehead before planting it in the holder. Then he stuck some sticks into water and sprinkled it over me several times; he had me hold out my hand so he could splash some water on it to rub over my face. After all of this and being encouraged to take photos I felt like I needed to make a donation, so out comes a $1 bill. Of course I couldn't just put it in the donation box, no I had to place it in the Buddha's lap. I was sort of glad there was no one else around to see me muddle my way through the interaction while at the same time feeling like I was walking away from a true cultural exchange and probably the most interesting few minutes of the day. You never know what will happen when you are travelling.
